I believe that the conversation matters. If in the attempt to realize the reign of God on earth, we cannot engage one another in respectful and grace-filled dialogue, we might as well not even try.

Wednesday, October 05, 2016

An Opportunity to Change the System

This morning, I submitted the following to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding a proposed rule change for the payday/title loan industry:

It is a question of justice, and lives are at stake. People
who get caught in the cycle of debt that is perpetrated by the payday/title
loan industry are victims of an unjust, unethical, and obviously predatory
system. Reform of this system is imperative.

A “full-payment test” before approving a loan is a common
sense rule that would prevent countless numbers of people from entering into
the cycle in the first place. I encourage the Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau to please implement this rule.

Furthermore, the rules for refinancing existing loans need
to be reformed to make that practice much more difficult. Creating the
conditions in which a customer has no choice but to refinance or even take out
another loan to cover the first is the stated business model for many lending
companies. This is, frankly, reprehensible.

Families caught in the debt trap are driven deeper and
deeper into desperate poverty by unethical business practices that are
currently legal in our nation. I hope that the CFPB will hear their voices, and
act to rectify the situation. It is a question of justice, and lives are at
stake.

The public comment period ends October 7th, and I encourage you to add your call for justice to mine.